Metamorphosis
by ShadesofEverything
Summary: AU. Fifty snippets into the life of an Alice and an Absolem, but certainly not the ones you're used to. With appearances by the Twins, Chess, a brother-in-law and love that won't seem to quit.


**Big Ass File… Dear Lord. Absolem is loosely based off of Alan Rickman mentally and completely physically. Also his last name is Latin for butterfly, in case any of you were wondering. **

**I own nothing, talk to Mr. Burton.**

**Taste**

Alice is dragged to the hookah bar by the Twins, who are both claiming that she needs to get out and get a taste of the party scene but she quits paying attention when she sees the gentlemen in the lovely blue scarf smoking by himself.

**Temperature**

Alice could have sworn that the temperature dropped about fifty degrees whenever she asked if she could join the man, but he does sigh and then proceed to lecture how to properly smoke.

**Dream**

Absolem was mildly sure he'd inhaled too much smoke (or that Chess had slipped him something) when the (rather pretty in an odd sort of way) blonde comes through the haze of the bar asks to use HIS hookah.

**Twelve**

They end up talking, with some encouragement needed on Absolem's part, he finds out she's a business (minor in creative writing) major at the college where he teaches philosophy; it strikes midnight and he offers to escort her home.

**Weeks**

It takes him five weeks since they first meet for him to introduce her to Chess, the two hit it off. It takes her twenty weeks for her to introduce him to her mother and they mentally size up each other almost immediately.

**Serious**

Absolem does have some of his less serious moments, like the time he threw flour all over her in the kitchen while baking, and Alice keeps them like charms in a jewelry box.

**Some**

Chess remarks that some won't get their lovely May/December romance right in front of Alice, and Absolem has never wanted to punch his best friend so much before and settles for throwing him out.

**Sing**

She walks in on him singing and is stunned on how good he sounds, and doesn't let him know she's there till the very end of the song.

**Share**

He doesn't share very well, not even with Alice, but she remedies that with big eyes and a very sneaky hand.

**Rock**

Everybody knows that he's her emotional rock, but nobody knows that she is his in the dead of night after a few drinks and tears and memories come back to haunt him.

**Greatest**

Out of all the people Alice has ever met, Professor Absolem Brucus was probably the greatest at sarcasm.

**Sold**

He's sold on her the moment he realizes she stocks all of his favorite teas and that she not only understands his sarcasm but counters it and that life without an Alice isn't much of a life at all.

**Hero**

He'd jump into a burning building to rescue her, but she's her own heroine so he settles for bringing her tea at work.

**Tribute**

He finds an old shoebox in the back of her closet marked 'Tarrant', and he understands; she finds the old picture album underneath his bed with 'Mirana', and she understands.

**Gap**

Chess swears that there was no happiness between childhood and adulthood for Absolem, and that Alice is filling the gap, but it's a full year before she knew what he meant.

**Hard**

The fights they have are legendary and everybody know that when two people that hard-headed clash it's bound to be magnificent.

**Manual**

After attempting to put the damn bed frame together for the tenth damn time, it's Alice who suggests that they just put the mattress on the floor and sleep there.

**Excess**

There's never an excess of Alice- he can't get enough.

**Cold**

She's never quite cold with him, and that's just the way she likes it. Especially in winter, when it's not at all odd to see them in their respectively dark blue and light blue coats.

**Pool**

She'd never figured for him to be much of a swimmer but when he does get the hang of it, she swears he's part fish.

**Here**

They don't know how they got there, but they're here and now and that's all that really matters.

**Palace**

Alice's tiny apartment barely has heating or air-conditioning, and thanks to him, smells constantly like hookah smoke, but it's her palace complete with a cantankerous old sultan.

**Soul**

The night that she screams at him that he's soulless; he leaves the apartment in a rage. He's back before dawn, but she's gone out looking for him**. **

**Half**

She's more than half his age, and he feels it until he looks into her eyes and finds an equal in everything possible except physical age and snarkiest.

**Active**

Alice never seems to stop moving- that wouldn't be a problem if her side of the bed wasn't cold and she was off doing anything except morning cuddling with him.

**Voice**

She tells him he was the voice of a villain, and that she absolutely loves it. He gives her a blank stare and then smiles evilly.

**Hate**

She hates very little, he hates so much, and somehow they balance each out quite nicely.

**Battery**

When's Alice seemingly never-ending energy does run out, he rents a couple of movies and they spend the next few hours on the couch just being _there._

**Toxic**

His smoking never affected him, but when it's Alice who gets the medical report back he immediately throws every form of tobacco out of the apartment.

**Dollars**

They never really need money, he makes a good salary and she is just starting at her new job, but occasionally he wishes he could give her all the jewels (and anything else) in the world.

**Insane**

Alice flinches at being called insane and he holds her bit tighter that night. He knows her pain and soothes it, the same way she is soothing his old wounds.

**Mess**

Alice adores a bit of chaos every now and then, but when she can no longer see their coffee table she starts organizing**.**

**Names**

He explains his is an old family name, and she thinks it fits him perfectly.

**Sleep**

Sometimes when he's asleep she runs a finger across the tattoo on his shoulder. He's possibly the only man on the planet who can have an intricate blue and gold butterfly and make it look manly.

**Complex**

When Lowell suggests that Alice might have a daddy complex, Alice stopped Absolem from strangling him. She then gave Lowell the best black eye of his life and dragged Absolem home.

**Old**

Whenever he mentions feeling old, she secretly wishes she'd been born just a while earlier. It's not quite fair they were robbed of so much time.

**Cream**

He takes cream in his coffee and she takes sugar in her tea. The morning ritual is quite sacred and they value the time they have before they have to face the world.

**Alone**

He used to love being completely and utterly alone, but now the moment she leaves his side he starts counting the seconds.

**Light**

The light in her smile and eyes when she is happy is enough to make him wish for an eternity with her.

**Stretch**

To imagine that a cranky philosophy professor and an imaginative business student would complete each other would take some stretch of the mind- but Alice has always been good with coming up with impossible things.

**Black**

She runs her hands through his hair (which is slowly picking up gray) and comments on how it feels so soft. He relishes in the touch.

**Eye**

She likes the way glasses look on him: he likes the way his stolen glasses fit on her nose.

**Piano**

The moment she found out he could play the piano; she immediately starts looking for what would soon be the newest piece of décor in their apartment.

**Sting**

He rarely loses his temper with anyone, but when he does he can cut anyone down to size and it stings like alcohol poured in a wound.

**Lips**

Absolem loves the way she doesn't wear anything but the occasional chap stick- it's nice to feel actual skin and not cosmetics. Alice loves the way his lips still taste like the hookah bar the first time they met.

**Emotion**

To the outsider, he rarely shows emotion. To her, he wears his soul in his expressions. It's just a matter of getting past his stone exterior.

**Wedding**

He's the first person to mention a wedding in the future. She gives him a look that makes him love her ten times over.

**Boots**

They walk everywhere as usual, and her newest shoe purchase ends up hurting her feet she limps, he carries her home. Anybody else he would have dismissed with a scathing look but Alice would only admit defeat if her feet fell off first**.**

**Apologize**

By the time they find each other on the street, no apologies are really needed. They embrace and just hold each for a minute.

**Apples**

He's buying apples the second time she meets him. She recommends her favorite type, and he wordlessly shows her the exact type of fruit in the bag. He looks her up and down, and when she doesn't back down from his stare he invites her to continue shopping with him.


End file.
